22nd and final act in the Olympic qualification: Former World champion Anna-Maria WAGNER (-78/GER) had a seemingly comfortable 1,167-point lead before the World Championships in Abu Dhabi. But in round 3, in the fight against Tokyo Olympic champion Shori HAMADA (JPN), everything could have tipped in favour of team-mate Alina BÖHM. The score was 0:4 in the personal duel against Hamada. The 28-year-old German had also lost against her in Tokyo in the Olympic semi-finals. But in Abu Dhabi, in their fifth meeting, the current world number two struck back impressively.
“I didn’t waste any thoughts on failure. I didn’t know anything about Alina either. I was completely focussed on the fight with Shori. Over the last few weeks, I’d somehow often thought that I might have to deal with her at the World Championships,” Anna-Maria said afterwards. “My plan was not to let her get into the ground fight (ne-waza). I always tried to stay on the edge of the mat. That allowed me to neutralise her strengths. I was 100 per cent determined to get my Paris ticket today. I didn’t even think for a moment that I could win a second World Championships title.”
The German double World champion has competed in a total of 22 Olympic qualifying competitions since October 2022. She has finished in the top-7 a total of18 times and on the podium no fewer than 12 times. The German national anthem was played for Wagner 6 times. “I’m absolutely ready for a holiday now, I’m not going to do any judo for two weeks and will be relaxing in Dubai instead. The qualification tour was extremely gruelling. I don’t think I’ll be able to judge how hard it really was until a few days later. I will definitely get a lot of sleep.”
Preparation for Paris and the “Olympic gold” mission only begins in a fortnight’ time. Has Anna-Maria become even stronger compared to 2021? “It’s hard to say, honestly, but I’ve definitely become more mature and more hardened, I’ve experienced a lot in these three years. I feel very strong mentally at the moment. That was also evident today. And of course the World Championships title gives me a boost. It’s incredible that I’ve now won a second gold medal. Fighting against Alice (BELLANDI) is always tough and always characterised by lots of tactics.”
How does the newly crowned world champion feel travelling to Paris? “I’m only going to make very small adjustments. I know I have what it takes to deliver at the Olympics too. And I’m going to try again to concentrate from fight to fight. Then gold is also possible in Paris!”
Author: EJU Media